Let the Rain Fall

By Rachel Norby

&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspIt was the summer of 1943, and I was

just seventeen years old. I had lived here, in

Summerville, South Carolina, for my whole life. I

was an only child, and my parents had been wealthy

for as long as I could remember. Th ey had what

was called old Southern money, and it just kept

on coming for them. I was soon to fi nish high school

and attend a fi nishing school, and my parents were

doing all they could to arrange a future marriage

with someone fr om a family equally as wealthy as

they were


&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspThus begins the story of Katherine, who has

her world turned upside down when she meets

the new boy in town, William Brenner. Will,

with his calm assuredness and unwavering faith,

is unlike any person Katherine has ever known.

Unfortunately for her, he does not fi t the

Kensington family ideal of the wealthy, socially

elite young man they desire for their daughter.

As the two fall in love and begin planning

their future together, Katherines parents do all

that they can to keep the two apart, including

introducing Katherine to Richard Wellington,

their prime candidate for their daughters heart.

When confronted with a series of unexpected

and unfortunate circumstances, Katherines

heart is tested in ways she never thought possible

as she wrestles with whether or not to hope when

all she holds dear seems lost.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 7, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452094892

Rachel Norby

Rachel Norby—an avid reader, writer, and runner—grew up in a family of six where reading was an escape from her ever-scheming older brothers. Her father exemplified a passion for storytelling and writing, passing his love of literature onto his children. Rachel has recently published two works of fiction, Let the Rain Fall (2010) and The Good One (2013), which can be viewed in more detail at rachelnorby.com. Currently residing in Mora, Minnesota, with her husband, two children, and yellow farm dog, she teaches English and coaches cross-country running at the local high school. Visit Rachel’s website at rachelnorby.com for more information.

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Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Prologue

The deep hum of the basses resonated in the damp air as the last few people filed into the small clearing. Katherine had been there for hours already. She had wandered down the small dirt path early in the morning, finally settling in on her favorite bench with a blanket wrapped around her to keep out the chill. The bench had been built years ago just for her, and as she sat on it, she began to reminisce. She consciously allowed her mind to wander, relishing in every remembrance, drinking it all in. Some of her fondest memories had happened in this very spot. She let her eyes slowly pass over every little part of the clearing, their clearing, trying to remember everything just as it had all happened, trying not to forget. She never wanted to forget.

She had been lost in her reverie when the preacher arrived, followed shortly after by the choir, and finally her friends and family. It was a relatively small party. Katherine had expected this, due to the fact that she had been an only child and her parents had died years ago, and most of the few close friends that they had had passed away in recent years. Her brother-in-law, John, squeezed her arm as he passed by. She gave him a weary smile, and then turned her attention to the choir as they sang her favorite hymn.

The song performed its magic once again on Katherine, reaching her in a way she couldn’t quite put into words. She had always marveled at the power of music: its ability to alter moods, uplift, and in this case, heal. She closed her eyes and felt the song, rather than listened to it, as the choir came to the last climactic refrain:

Let the rain fall down,

Let the rain fall down,

Let the rain

Fall from Heaven.

It had been misting all morning, and, ironically, as the choir finished the song, it began to rain softly. Multiple umbrellas went up simultaneously as the preacher stepped out from his place within the choir and made his way down to the middle of the crowd. Katherine mused that the weather always seemed to be morbid on the days of funerals. It was as if God himself sent a signal to Mother Nature to make the weather match people’s moods. She didn’t mind. Katherine had always loved the rain. Though she had her umbrella along, she let the rain run freely down her face. It was a form of catharsis for her.

Katherine knew it was unusual to have a choir sing at a funeral, but then again, she wasn’t one to care much about what people thought. Not recently anyways. There had been a time when she cared, so very long ago, but that had caused her to make the biggest mistake of her life. Never again, she had vowed, never again.

Katherine shed not one tear throughout the entire funeral. Even as she watched the coffin lowered into the freshly-dug grave, no tears came. It wasn’t that she hadn’t loved; she had loved more deeply than words could express. It was simply that Katherine realized that she had been given a second chance at love; a chance that was more than she deserved. Much more than she had deserved.

Chapter One

Katherine sat upon the edge of her bed and looked one last time at what used to be her home. She had put it up for sale a week ago, and the house had sold within a few days. She knew that it would. She had asked far less than it was worth, partly because money didn’t really matter to her at this point in her life, and partly because she had just wanted to sell it quickly.

It had always been her and Will’s home, and now that he was gone, she couldn’t see living in it anymore. Every nook and cranny held some memory for her. Memories of him. Memories of them together. Probably far more than most couples, since they had designed the house together, and inlaid in every brick and piece of lumber was their sweat and toil. The house was charming, even to the outsider; this was certain. But it held far more of a charm for Katherine, since she knew the story behind every part of the home. For instance, the outsider would never know that the painting room was designed as a surprise for Katherine by Will. The outsider wouldn’t know that the whole wall of windows in the room were put there because Katherine loved nature and loved to paint what she saw beyond the glass. The outsider wouldn’t know that Will and Katherine had laid the rugged brick on the patio by themselves, even though they had more than enough money to have someone else do it, and that one of the bricks was just a shade off color with I love Katherine carved into it. The outsider also wouldn’t know how many hours Will had spent in bed that last year with Katherine by his side, the very bed on which Katherine now sat, trying to keep him comfortable and happy before his impending death. The outsider wouldn’t know.

That morning, as Katherine had walked around the grounds and then made her way into the house, she filed it all away in her memory. One comfort to her was that she had their house depicted in a painting she had created in between packing and running errands the past few weeks. She had captured many things in this painting, due partly to her obvious mastery of the medium and partly to the emotion that was tied into it. She captured the way the house was situated atop a hill overlooking the grove of trees that held their clearing; the little dirt path that led up the hill to the front porch, surrounded by flowers on both sides; the roughness in the stone that covered the outside of the entire house; the large windows, each with a wooden flowerbox filled with a variety of vibrant flowers beneath it; the little stone chimney jutting out of the roof that they used in the wintertime to help keep warm. She had also captured the warmth that radiated from the home, despite it being made out of stone, with the hues of paint that she so effectively chose. The sun seemed to not only shine down on the home, but flow out of the home as well. This painting she would take with her and hang in her new room, a constant reminder of a life built together.

Before Will died, Katherine had painted something for him as well. She had crafted multiple paintings for him throughout their relationship, but this one was unique in the fact that it would be given to him as a parting gift. It was an unusual painting, but not because of the way she painted it; it was a basic oil painting not unique in any stylistic sort of way. It was unusual because of the subject matter. It was a bed. She had painted it the way it looked in the morning, with the covers strewn across the top and the sun coming in the east window, illuminating everything in the room. Since the room was mostly white, it almost seemed to glow. Katherine attempted to capture all of the memories that their bed held. The bed held many; not only of love-making, but of long talks deep into the night, laughter, and also pain—the pain of watching someone you love die slowly before your eyes. For this, she used some dark hues within the recesses of the covers that were a sharp contrast to the rest of the painting.

She knew it was the best painting she had ever done, not only by her own assessment of her work after she was finished, but by the reaction her husband had given her. Usually, Will was able to express himself easily. Though he was not a big talker, he always seemed to have the gift of having the right words for every situation. For this, he had none. He just looked at the painting for minutes on end, driving Katherine to the edge of insanity wondering what exactly he was thinking. Finally, almost childlike, she had blurted out, Do you like it?

Will hadn’t answered right away. He continued to look at the painting for a few moments longer, and then replied, I’d like to take this with me when I die. It’s the most… he searched for the right words. It’s perfect…just like my Kate. Then, he had kissed her forehead, her favorite spot to be kissed, and had fallen back asleep. He had slept through the night, and then never woke up. The painting had been placed in his coffin with him.

This is what Katherine recalled as she sat upon the edge of the bed. It’s strange what sitting on a bed can make you remember.

Chapter Two

Katherine and Will had made a plan together shortly before he had died. This entailed the sale of their extended property far beyond the grove of trees, the building of a unique sort of assisted living home on that property, and the understanding that Katherine would move into that building as soon as Will passed away. The land had sold within a month and the building put up within three months, with residents moving in a few months before Will’s death. The time had now come for Katherine to move in as well.

Katherine brought very few belongings with her when she moved; the few she had consisted of her bed, her recently finished painting of their old home, an old easy chair that didn’t look like much but had formed to her body over the years, her wardrobe, some painting supplies, and some basic living necessities. All else she had either sold with the house or given away. She had no need for such things anymore.

New Horizons, the name the assisted living home had adopted, had sent a truck to Katherine’s home, just a jaunt up the road, to get her belongings for her. Though she didn’t have much to bring to her new home, she was grateful for the help. The truth was, the few friends who hadn’t either moved away or passed away were too old to help with such things.

It wasn’t that she felt that old; her 75 years of age she wore quite gracefully and was still considered a beautiful woman by many. Somehow the wrinkles that plagued most people had not found a home in her face, she still had a nice figure from regular exercise, and she had amazing emerald eyes that seemed to hold both beauty and wisdom at the same time. Will had always told her that her eyes held the secrets of the universe. She never really believed him, but she had always liked the way it made her feel when he said it.

As her belongings were moved into her room, Katherine felt grateful for many other things as well. She was exceptionally thankful that her room had a large window facing northward, where she could see her grove of trees that held their clearing about one-half a mile away. This was the only portion of her property that she did not sell, nor did she ever intend to sell. Not only did the grove hold many memories for Katherine, but it now contained Will’s gravestone as well. This was the place she would walk to faithfully each day to visit her Will.

Though Katherine didn’t know any of the residents yet, she was also thankful that she’d have some company in this last leg of her life. She had always enjoyed the company of others, and she knew it wouldn’t be good for her to be living on her own. She still had one good friend in town, Gloria, with whom she would have considered living, but her husband was still alive and doing well. Maybe Gloria would join her at another time.

Katherine also felt she had something to offer the residents of New Horizons. She wasn’t exactly sure exactly what it was, but somehow she had been felt a sort of peace about this being the place she wanted to be and the place she was supposed to be at this point in her life.

Katherine was also incredibly grateful for New Horizons and the freedom that it offered its residents. It was actually more like a miniature apartment complex than anything else, with each living area equipped with everything an independent person would need: a kitchenette, a living room, a bathroom, and a bedroom. Residents could make their own meals in their place if they wished, or they could inform the kitchen staff a day ahead of time which meals they wished to eat in the commons area so that they could socialize with the other residents. They could do their own laundry or choose to have it done by the staff. In short, the residents could ask for as little or as much help as they needed. This was the agreement Katherine and Will had made with the land purchasers, and in exchange for that agreement the buyers were given a very low price. Only the owners of New Horizons knew who Katherine was and of her involvement in the development of the assisted living home; all of the other residents simply saw her as the new resident moving in and someone who sparked their curiosity.

Three such people whose curiosity was definitely sparked by the new resident happened to be three sisters who had been at New Horizons since the day it opened. They were three somewhat eccentric ladies who had decided that they wanted to go out of this life living together. Their rooms were adjacent to each other, and though they slept in separate rooms, they convened each morning for breakfast in the commons area and often stayed there until bedtime. Their favorite pastimes were knitting, telling stories about their past life, and, of course, gossiping about the present. The latter was what they now convened in doing as they saw the graceful figure of Katherine make her way out of her room and into the hallway.

Who do you suppose she is? the oldest sister, Nicene, said to her younger two sisters as they all put down their knitting projects.

I have no idea. Why do you think I would know any more than you do? retorted the middle sister, Patience.

Oh, I do hope that she’ll be someone who likes to mingle! Or even better, knit! replied the youngest sister, Hope, with eyes wide.

None of them had a chance to meet Katherine or say anything to her, as Katherine walked past the reception counter and out the front door.

Chapter Three

Katherine knew that she should introduce herself to the residents sometime within the day lest they think her a snob, but she knew there’d be time for that at dinner when most of the residents would be out and about. Right now, she needed to get some fresh air and walk to the grove to clear her mind. She walked across the street that had been created when New Horizons was built, and she mused how this very street used to be a field that she owned just months ago.

After walking on the grassy field for a bit, she quickened her pace as she neared the grove of trees. Since she habitually walked at least two miles daily, this half-a-mile walk seemed easy for her. She rarely approached the grove from this side; usually, she’d be coming down the little dirt path from her house into the clearing. It seemed almost for a moment not to be the grove that she knew so well. Once she made her way past the first set of trees and could see the clearing, however, the air of familiarity settled on her as she took a seat on her bench.

For a while, Kate sat mesmerized, staring at the gravestone that lay not ten feet from her. The gravestone read,

William Michael Brenner

February 3, 1925-April 25, 2001

Man of faith, courage, and heart.

Loving husband and friend.

Katherine hadn’t really known what to put as the epitaph on the gravestone. How does one put into words what a person’s life has meant? Can it be put into words at all? Does it somehow make a life seem smaller by attempting to capture one’s entire being in a few words?

She had decided to go with the words she felt best captured who Will had been. He had definitely been a man of faith. Ever since Katherine had known him, even when they were young, he had always had a steady head about him and an unwavering faith in God. He also had incredible faith in people. Katherine could remember times where she wasn’t sure of herself, and every time she turned around, Will was there to encourage her with his unfaltering faith in her abilities.

He had always been a man of great courage and heart as well. He had been in World War II during the last leg of it, and for his bravery had received multiple medals. She also recalled one of her most painful memories from her marriage with Will…the difficulty she had getting pregnant. It took years for her to finally get pregnant, and when she did, the baby had died at childbirth. It had been a boy. The doctors later told her she would never again have children. Though Katherine knew this must have hurt Will, he never blamed her nor did he ever bring it up again. He just held Katherine when she cried every night for the next two months, murmuring to her how he loved her and knew they would make it through this. Her heart had eventually healed, and she had forever marveled at how Will’s heart had helped to heal hers.

Katherine wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting there when she snapped out of her reverie. She slowly reached down into her sweater pocket to take out a